Mongke Khan

Mongke Khan (10 January 1209-11 August 1259) was the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1251 to 1259, succeeding Guyuk Khan and preceding Kublai Khan.

Biography
Mongke was the seventh son of Tolui Khan, who was the fourth son of Genghis Khan. He was a Tengri Mongol of the Borjigin clan, which ruled the Mongol dynasties. In 1230, Mongke went to battle for the first time at the age of 21, leading troops alongside his father and Ogedei Khan against the Great Jin in China. In 1235 Ogedei, who became khan after the death of Tolui in 1232, sent Mongke to fight the Kipchaks, Cumans, and Russians, and Mongke defeated the Kipchak chief Bachman. Mongke was later sent to besiege Russian cities and to reduce tribes in the North Caucasus, and he captured the city of Maghas, the capital of the Alans. In 1240, he participated in the conquest of Kiev after Ogedei's envoys were killed by the Kievans, and he assisted Batu at the Battle of Mohi in 1241 against Hungary. Ogedei died in 1241 while the Mongols were invading Europe, halting their advance. His successor Guyuk Khan died in 1248 after a short rule, and Mongke competed with Batu Khan for the title of Khagan. Mongke purged Ogedei Khan's house, as the sons of Ogedei Khan led a large faction against Mongke. Mongke gave a general amnesty to all prisoners after taking power, and he began the Toluid dynasty, made up of Tolui's sons.

Mongke ordered Hulegu Khan to conquer the Middle East in 1256, giving him a massive army to crush the last Muslim states in southwestern Asia. Mongke personally led campaigns in China, and the kingdom of Nanchao in southern China was conquered completely by the Mongols, while he led forces against the Song dynasty. Mongke was killed during the siege of Diaoyu (present-day Chongqing) by either a Chinese archer, a cannon, a trebuchet, or by drowning when his ship was sunk by Chinese fire; his death was passed off as illness to maintain the morale of the Mongols, who would maintain the siege of the fortress for 17 years. His two younger brothers Kublai Khan and Ariq Boke fought over the succession until 1260, when Kublai became the new Khagan.